The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Remote control devices are used for controlling various pieces of electronic equipment. Typically, each piece of electronic entertainment equipment comes with a separate remote control. Some remote control devices may be programmed to perform functions on other electronic devices.
Television set top boxes, such as satellite set top boxes, may include a remote control database to aid a consumer to program a remote control to be used to control various other devices such as televisions, DVD players, and audio systems. As a number of devices increases, the database in the set top box grows continuously taking more space in non-volatile storage. The non-volatile storage used for controlling remote controls are used only a few times and, thus, become wasted space.
The database is loaded into the set top box upon manufacture of the set top box. The database is static. However, the set top box may be used for devices not known at the time of the manufacture of the set top box.
One method for controlling a remote control database includes selecting the device and brand name of the device that are stored in the programming codes in the fixed database. The user programs the remote control with one of the codes and tests the remote control with a desired device. If the device responds, programming is stopped. However, there is a chance that the device may not work and another code may be entered. Several codes may be entered before the proper code for the device is found. This process is a manual cumbersome process.